EED/430 - Elementary Methods - Social Studies

Course Description

This course provides a context for teaching and assessing students in elementary social studies. Teacher candidates will explore social studies content standards and major concepts, research methodologies and resources for teaching social studies, and examine strategies for developing students' critical thinking skills. In addition, teacher candidates will apply culturally responsive instruction to meet the needs of culturally, academically, and linguistically diverse students and integrate social studies with other disciplines.

This undergraduate course is 5 weeks.

PLEASE NOTE:
Attendance and participation are mandatory in all university courses, and specific requirements may differ by course. If attendance requirements are not met, a student may be removed from the course. Please review the Course Attendance Policy in the Catalog for more information.

This course is not available for enrollment to residents of Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, New York, Wisconsin, Wyoming and individuals who reside outside the United States.

Course Objectives

Week 1

• Describe the major disciplines of social sciences.
• Examine current trends and issues regarding social studies instruction and materials.
• Examine personal perceptions and professional ethics in social studies instruction.
• Compare local, state, and national standards.
• Define the thematic strands of the social studies standards.
• Use scope and sequence of elementary social studies curricula.

Week 2

• Research best practices in social studies instruction.
• Analyze instructional strategies used to adapt and modify learning activities.
• Analyze strategies to adjust and modify the learning environment.
• Identify technology and print resources for integrating social studies with other subjects.

Week 3

• Examine developmental expectations in the instruction of social studies content.
• Develop active-learning opportunities.
• Identify technology resources for social studies instruction and assessment.
• Apply inquiry-based learning methods to social studies instruction.
• Construct assessment tools to measure student learning.

Week 4

• Identify ways to use parents and the community as resources in social studies instruction.
• Explore opportunities schoolwide and community involvement and resources.
• Integrate technology into instructional plans.

Week 5

• Integrate effective teaching practices and methodology in lesson and unit planning to include the use of technology.
• Apply theoretical frameworks associated with social studies instruction.
• Include cooperative learning and differentiated instruction to address the needs of diverse learners.
• Include various forms of assessment to determine student retention of content.

Disclaimers

The University of Phoenix reserves the right to modify courses.

Although our continuing education for teacher’s courses are accepted by some state agencies in the United States toward teacher certifications and endorsements, this may not be the case in all states or foreign jurisdictions. If you plan to use courses for certification or endorsement, please check with your own state agency and your school district for applicability. Continuing education for teachers’ courses is not eligible to apply to degree programs at University of Phoenix. These courses are not eligible for federal financial aid.

Transferability of credit is at the discretion of the receiving institution. It is the student’s responsibility to confirm whether credits earned at University of Phoenix will be accepted by another institution of the student’s choice.

While widely available, not all programs are available in all locations or in both online and on-campus formats. More information about eligibility requirements, policies, and procedures can be found in the catalog or please check with a University Enrollment Representative.